Products+Steals+Splurges: Design Within Reach

Contemporary looks at any price.

03.03.2016by Robert Nieminen

For our Makers issue, we’re focusing our attention on craft. When it comes to sourcing quality, stylish furnishings and fixtures, look no further than Design Within Reach. This month, we’ve highlighted a number of contemporary classics from DWR’s collection, featuring members of Be Original Americas, a campaign committed to informing, educating, and influencing manufacturers, design professionals, and individuals on the economic, ethical, and environmental value of authentic design while preserving and investing in its future. But don’t worry—there are Steals+Splurges for every budget.

$$$$$ Brazo Floor Lamp $490Designed by Pablo Pardo for Pablo

Made from LEDs and recyclable aluminum, Pablo Pardo’s innovative Brazo Floor Lamp is the first LED light to feature an optical film lens for focus control. Brazo provides both a variable beam spread and focused directional light.

Composition of each part of the Rich Brilliant Willing LED Floor Lamp is based on its application. A wooden rectangular-prism shade adds warmth at the light source; a tubular steel arm lends strength and a twist—at the tip, an audio jack allows the shade to rotate 360 degrees—and a steel disc at the base provides support.

$$Air Table $349Designed by Jasper Morrison, produced by Magis for Herman Miller

Jasper Morrison’s inventive approach to materials and form takes new shape in the construction of his Air Collection. The celebrated designer achieves these sleek and strong pieces by injection-molding a combination of polypropylene and glass fiber. The process creates a material of extreme durability that is rigid enough to meet structural needs yet still flexible and with some give for user comfort. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

$$Bellini Chair $175Designed by Mario Bellini for Heller

The world met the Bellini Chair when Heller placed six chairs in an all-white, 51-foot-long booth at the annual furniture fair in Milan. Crafted of injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced polypropylene, the Bellini Chair is a sturdy, stackable, and lightweight chair that is as timeless and beautiful as it is versatile. Bellini resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in public spaces at MoMA, where durability counts as much as good design. This chair earned the celebrated Italian architect and designer his eighth Compasso d’Oro award in 2001. Stackable up to six high.

$$$$$ Min Table, Small $1040–$1150Designed by Luciano Bertoncini

In 1972, Luciano Bertoncini’s work was included in Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, a legendary MoMA exhibition that included Ettore Sottsass, Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Joe Colombo, and many other groundbreaking designers. The show kicked off Bertoncini’s career, and today he still designs furniture and architectural spaces from his studio in Treviso. The simplicity of his Min Table is certain to inspire a creative workspace or elegant dining area. Small version seats four people.

The Series 7 Chair debuted in 1955 at the H55 exhibition in Sweden, and the appeal of what remains one of the most copied chairs of the modern era is its shape. The chair is ideally suited to the human body, its seatback has a comfortable “give,” and its waterfall seat edge doesn’t press into legs. Choose from nine options of Lacquered Veneer, a glossy finish with no visible wood grain. Stacks six high.